Torpedo



H. L. BOESCH July 17, 1934.

TORPEDO Filed March 18, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l y 1934- I H. L. BOESCH 1,966,435

' TORPEDO Filed March 18, 1922 2 Sheets-Sfieet 2 2 M 5 lo HLBqescZv Patented July 17, 1934 I I TORPEDO Harry Luther Boesch, Washington, D. C., assignor v to Government of the United States I Application March is, 1922, Serial No; 544,943

.. Claims. (Cl. 60-46) (Granted undel tl1e actof March 7 3, 1883, as I I I II amended April 30, 1928; 370 OIG. 757) I 'Ihisinvention relate's'to torpedoes and more on the lines '33, 44, and 55', respectively; of particularly theval've'rnechanismsi'for controlling Figurel, II I the. flow ,or'ru1 a d water rom th eir respective Figure 6 is an end view of'th valve, c'or'dartmentsto the combustion flask. II I I Figure? is adetail view of the valve plug, siin-' .5 iIn order that a clearer'perception'of the present ilar to Fig ure 2, but showing an-arrangement of 30 invention: and the objectss'ought to be emp rethe fuel and water portsl'iy'u'rhich the flow of the plishd j'may' be' h' ad it be briefly stated; a liquids may be ad to start in sequence, is" well-known'to' those familiar with the art, that Figure 8' is a partial longitudinal section of a in the central portion of th'e' torpedo there is torpedo diagrammaticallvfshowing' the applicalocated a compressed air'res'ervoir, a fuel c'omtion of my invention thereto, and l Q5 partmen'tand'a water compartment, all forward Ei'gure 9 is a partial cross sectional view of a of thebull i head separating'thcentral part'from torpedo showing the various pipe connections to the after-body of the torpedo. The air, fuel ajnd the valve, II I I I waster-eat he: moment or launching, conducted I Referringniore particularlyto Figure 1 ofthe to awcoirib "n flask where the fuel is ignited, drawings, 10 indicates'amain valve casing prefer- 7 cbmbusltion b g p d' y th oxygen of the ablyconstructedin one piece and provided-with a air an'd the' heat'l'iberated raising the products of valve plug shown in Figures 2 and 7. The plug combustion-and the nitrogen of the air to'a high andcasins aire'held in assembled relation bya temperature; vaporizing the'wate'r' and su'perclosure nut 12 at: one end and suitablepacking :20, heating the' result ing' r'rii xtureofgase's, which is members 13 atthe other end; The end of the 7 conducted from the combustion flask an'dutil'ized p u Stem has anactuating arm 15 securedthere for driving thjtorpeiio'eii ineg With the usual to by a nut r other suitable fastenin mea s 16: arrangement of air, fuel andw'ater reservoirs or The valve casing 10 is' provided on one side containers it frequently happens that leakage with an ail' iI'fl'et port 17 and on the top with air fr'oni'thehigh pressure air reseryoirca'usesa'rlse Outlet p'orts lS -and 20 leading respectively pressure in the water compartment or'in' the through-conduits 36 and 37 to the wa ter coznwatei and fuel compartments; Prior to launch;- P tment'34 and'fuel'compartmen of 1 5 in g't'he torpedo, causing premature new of liqpeqo I the port 1"?- i iope 'ed a r-unde uids, particularly water, into the combustion flask plf ilg gis'admitted to the water antliuel com- :30 with resulting serious failures of ignition and partments forcing'fthir contents out thfdugh 35 combustion. i v I conduits 38; and 39; respectively, to th'evalve It is,'the"ref ore, one of the objects of the prescasing; th'roilgh' 'fiheiinlet port's fz'l and- 22:, the ent invention to prevent the accumulation of former being fortheffliel'anfdthe' lattrffoi th excessive pressures in the water and fuel com watlf," I Afte f'passlng" through' thfe'valve',--the fuel 35 partme nts" and also to provide means whereby ai f iw fi l' p s llfith imtghP92 3 indi and 9.0 the premature or untimely flow of liquids into the em vqnqg ctg ugh qonduits sewn-(1 39' I to combustion flask will be positively prevented; and PPQ QQP' wh re" they m x; with the admission of these liquids to the combustion 9 P $9 m tt d f m: PQi QmP QQ chamber definitely co-ntrolledin any desired S f g gif ggfgi gtiki hrough plPQ l me 4'1; and subse- 1 q n fi F t tP q and 9mbustmn q redo-11am launching the torpdo;-- theivalve c A further ob ect is to provide a simple and is: m cm-s'edipmifion a t a. V v 1n 1gures3,4, practical valv e mechamsmof the ab ove g en er al and Itht-iS;IIth-p1ug.1H8 filmed I ism character Which-will be reliable and efiiclent n soasw e and r n useand ope'rat1on. I I I I 21' and 2'2', and at the same maths air inlet 0 Other objects will be in p D Q and 111 port 17' is closed preventing the passage of air part here'maftenpointe'd out in connection wit into 't'hefuel' and water compartments. the accompa yi raw gs illus'trating' t e pj e- I ur ng the inactive pg l dio'r the torpedo; differred' embodiment of my invention wherein-like ficulty' has been experienced in preventing air reference characters indicate corresponding'parts from the ioharg'ed; cQm r air I Irgqepwql 105 throughout theseveral views, and in=which leaking around the bu'llthead that parates the Figure 1 is aside elevation of niy valvemecha-i receptacle'irom theigest oi theiafter body' of the i m, I i v I torpedd 'By referring to'Fig ure 8,'it will be seen Figureizi's a"detaildf'thefvalve plug, thatth'sdpdintsdf leak are" indicated A and B',

Figures3, 1,andfifaretransverse sectionalviews respectively. ,In ashort'spa'ce'of time this'seep 1 g 1 age will build up a pressure in the water compartment considerably in excess of the pressure desired therein, and tends to force the contents thereof into the main valve. Likewise, air that has thus passed intothe water compartment may in turn seep through the opening in the wall of the fuel compartment for admission of the conduits 37 and 39, and tend to prematurely force fuel into the main valve. Relief valves 25, normally closed by springs 26, permit the expenditure of the undesired accumulated pressure without its having a detrimental effect upon the successful operation of the torpedo. Ports 32 in plug 11, see Figure 2, complete the passageway from conduits 36 and 37 and ports 18 and 20 to the relief valves, the fluid then passing through conduit 27 to port 28, from whence it is directed toward the after body of the torpedo by conduit 47, more clearly seen in Figure 8.

When the main valve is opened the relief valves 25 are closed from communication with the fuel and water compartments, the air inlet port 17 is placed in communication with the outlet ports 18 and 20 by means of the port 31 in the valve plug 11, and the fuel and water inlet ports 21 and 22 are placed in communication with the outlet ports 23 and 24 by means of the ports 30 and 33 in the valve plug. Air will now pass in through port 1'7 and out through the outlets 18 and 20 to the fuel and water compartments forcing the contents thereof to the inlet ports 21 and 22 and through the ports 23 and 24 to the combustion flask, as previously explained.

It will be understood that the valve plug may be provided with ports 30 and 33 of the same length, see Figure 2, or of diiferent lengths whereby the proper sequence of flow of fuel and water to the combustion flask may be regulated. This latter construction is illustrated in Figure 7 wherein the fuel port 30 is made longer than the water port 33, thereby causing the fuel line to be opened first and fuel delivered to the combustion flask in advance of the water.

The operation of the invention can best be understood by referring to Figure 8 wherein 14 is the after portion of the compressed air receptacle, 34 is the water compartment and 35 is the fuel compartment, here shown as a vessel mounted within the water compartment. When the torpedo is started, compressed air flows through the main air pipes 41 and 41' and the stop valve 42 to the starting and reducing valve 43. The main air supply, after being reduced to a suitable and constant working pressure by means of the reducing valve, flows through the conduit 41" to the combustion flask 40. A portion of the air supply at the reduced pressure is led through conduit 44 to the valve 10 through which it passes and is conducted through conduits 36 and 3'7 to the water and fuel compartments, placing the contents therein under pressure. This pressure, by virtue of certain features of the design of the air passages which do not concern the present invention, is somewhat higher than the pressure in the combustion flask. Under the action of the pressure referred to, the liquids are forced from the water and fuel compartments, through conduits 38 and 39 to the valve 10, and after passing through the valve, are conducted by conduits 38 and 39 to the combustion flask 40, where the fuel is mixed with the air entering through conduit 41 and ignited. The resulting mixture of gases, consisting of the products of the combustion together with the superheated steam resulting from the evaporation of the injected water, passes through pipe 45 to the main engine 46, here shown as an impulse turbine located in the after body of the torpedo.

Figure 8 also shows how the control arm 15 may be connected to a device 48 driven through any suitable means by the torpedo engine whereby the valve may be automatically opened when the torpedo mechanism begins to function. As

any suitable gearing may be employed to drive the member 48, it is thought not necessary to show the same in detail.

Figure 9 illustrates a still further manner of operating the valve, either by hand, before it is loaded in the tube, or automatically as it is being loaded in the tube or as it is being launched. In this modification a portion of the operating handle 15 extends beyond the shell of the torpedo where it may be gripped by the hand for manual operation, or where it engages with a suitable lug or latch place within the bore of the tube. The installation of such a lug is so obvious to those versed in the art that it is believed unnecessary to illustrate such construction in detail. It will thus be seen that the present invention provides a reliable and efficient mechanism for regulating and controlling the flow of fuel and water to the combustion flask of a torpedo in proper sequence. It also prevents the building up of excessive pressures in the fuel and water compartments which would otherwise seriously affect the satisfactory run of the torpedo.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitutes essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

The invention herein described may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royaltis thereon or therefor.

What I claim is:-

1. In a valve for torpedoes and the like having fuel and water compartments, in combination, an air inlet port communicating with but normally closed from fuel and Water compartments, relief valves for permitting the exhaust of high pressure air which may leak to said compartments and inlet and outlet ports controlled by said valve for permitting the fuel and water to pass through said valve to the combustion flask when said valve is opened.

2. In a valve for torpedoes and the like having fuel and water compartments, in combination, an air inlet port communicating with but normally closed from fuel and water compartments, relief valves for permitting the exhaust of high pressure air which may leak to said compartments, inlet and outlet ports controlled by said valve for permitting the fuel and water to pass through said valve to the combustion flask when said valve is opened, said valve mechanism comprising a single valve plug with cutaway portions registering with the inlet and outlet ports opening and closing the same as desired.

3. In a valve for torpedoes and the like having fuel and water compartments, in combination, an air inlet port communicating with but normally closed from fuel and water compartments, relief valves for permitting the exhaust of high pressure air which may leak to said compartments, inlet and outlet ports controlled by said valve for permitting the fuel and water to pass through said valve to the combustion flask when said valve is opened and means for actuating said valves, comprising a crank arm'adapted to be actuated either manually or automatically.

4. In a valve for torpedoes and the like having fuel and water compartments, in combination, a valve casing, a plug having cutaway portions, said valve casing having an air inlet port and outlet ports normally closed and adapted to lead to fuel and water compartments, said casing also having inlet and outlet ports through which the fuel and water are adapted to pass from the compartments to the combustion flask and means for preventing excessive pressure in the fuel and water. compartments when said valve is closed.

5. In a valve for torpedoes and the like having fuel and water compartments, in combination, a valve casing, a plug having cutaway portions, said valve casing having an air inlet port and outlet ports normally closed and adapted to lead to fuel and water compartments, said casing also having inlet and outlet ports through which the fuel and water are adapted to pass from the compartments to the combustion flask, means for preventing excessive pressure in the fuel and water compartments when said valve is closed and means for actuating said valve for opening the ports whereby compressed air enters the compartments and forces the fuel and water therefrom.

HARRY LUTHER BOESCH. 

